It figures... I just plunked down list price two weeks ago.

 

HF is that way--they have sales all the time--sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose...but that tool is one of the rare HF tools that won't break the first time you use it, lol.

Yesterday I heard an awful scraping sound, pulled over, and realized that the sound was coming from the rear rotors. I pulled the wheel and found that the passenger side pad was worn down to the backing plate. The inner pad was fine--wasn't even worn down to the sensor.

Took me about 30 minutes to replace the pads and get back on the road. The HF tool worked great! It's not perfect--you have to align the pins, tighten the tool, crank the piston in a bit--it gets loose again--align the pins--tighten the tool, and crank it some more--making sure the piston boot doesn't get tweaked or torn.

Richard

 

awesome write up.....please post more projects as you come across doing them

 

is there any danger of damaging abs speed sensors when changing the brakes? what should i be looking for and how do i avoid damaging it?

 

Thanks! Certainly will!
Not that I'm aware of. Of course if you're aren't confident in your ability to change your pads, you probably shouldn't be doing it. I've given as much detail as necessary for any 1st gen MINI owner to change their pads.

 

Great write up! Just finished my break job on the wife's Mini, I get a "thumping" that comes from both front wheels... I did all the rotors and pads...Brembo with the easy check dots on them and Hawk HPS... my thought is that the easy check dots are causing the noise...

Does anyone have an thoughts?

Thanks for the write-ups and any thoughts on this new issue (search didn't turn up anything anyway).

 

dood, Octane man, you are my Mini hero!! any write ups on brake fluid flushing? Oh and I just scored front/rear axxis deluxe pads for one hell of a deal. check out http://www.r1concepts.com/

 

Just in case you ever wanted to know, the brake pad sensor is nothing more than a loop of wire. Hence when it is contacted by the rotor and is worn through the ckt opens and the light comes on. If you do not want or cannot accommodate the sensor, you can take an old one cut it off at the connector end with about four inches of wire exposed, strip and connect the ends together. A little heat shrink looks nice as well.

Simple enough. Don't forget to turn on the ignition for around a min. to reset the dash indicator.

Marty de

 

Thanks for the great writeup! It was a big help. I have a 2003 Mini.
Here are a few things I found while doing it:
If you are removing the rotor, the torx bolt holding the rotor is a T50. If you try to loosen it but the rotor spins, take the lug wrench and wedge it between the caliper bracket and a couple of lug bolts that you reinserted. I had to use some penetrating oil and an impact wrench to get it loose.
The bolts securing the caliper bracket are 13 mm.
My local Murrays automotive let me borrow their brake tool set for free. (You need to pay for it, but they will give you a full refund when you bring it back.)
When I had done a rear brake job on a VW I used to own, I could spin the piston back in using needlenose pliars like one of the replies mentioned. I had no luck doing this on the Mini and had to use the tool.

 

Hi i just both one of these at napa autoparts 20$ and it d'int fit none of the pathen would fit so in the end i used a pair of long noze pliyer that worked just fine ..just to lest u guy no''' the rightup is still verry goooood..Thanks

MC 2

 

Three cheers for OctaneGuy.

Just finished the rear pads on my 05 MCS.
This post made my entire life super easy.
All I did in addition to the article was use some brakecleen - to clean the entire caliper assembly - and used some anti-seize on all contact surfaces.

Also - if you dont want to buy the brake tool - you can get one on a loaner program from Autozone - for free. You pay for the loaner (full price $55) and they refund you($55) when you return the tool - within 90 days.

 

Great to hear!!! Thanks for the feedback!!

Richard

 

Minis must have different sized bolts holding the brackets. My 2005 MCS has 16mm bolts.


I was upgrading rotors as well as pads, so The first thing I did was spray penetrating oil on the torx bolt front and back (you can get the back of the bolt by spraying inside the rear of the rotor). It sat for 20-30 minutes while I prepped everything else. I losened the torx screw just a little, tightened it back, losened again a little more, tightened it back. About 20 times and they come out like butter. Don't rush it. The rust that's the worst is on the back side of the bolt sticking out of the rear of the hub.

 

great write up! I just did all four rotors and pads yesterday, and like many others got stuck on the right rear for around 3 hours trying to compress the piston with the HF tool. I wonder why that one is so difficult? Other 3 took less than an hour.

 

I, too, have one of the HF kits but I have a disc brake piston tool by KD Tools of Lancaster PA which is designed fofr both domestic and import cars. When I installed CT's 3 weeks ago, I used this tool and was able to rotate and reseat the rear pistons with ease. I think you can find the tool at an auto parts store. My recollection is that I paid $12 or so in the mid-1990s. It fits on a 3/8" drive.

 

just a heads up, the harbor freight tool wouldnt work for me. it wasnt strong enough to compress that piston down. (i guess its possible my piston is jammed a little bit) so i bought a SIR tools air powered brake tool. Its what the head mechanic at the mini dealer suggested, and he says its probably the best on the market (and no i didnt buy it through mini, so he was not just saying that. he bought the one at the dealer for himself) Its ~$165 for the complete kit (model # ST9020), which still pays for itself. after 2 axel brake changes. Ill post my results when i change my brakes this weekend.

 

Hello..

I found this tool: http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/brows...per%2BTool.jsp

It has 1-1/2", 1-5/8" and some more bigger ones. I think 1-5/8" is too big for mini' rear caliper piston. I'm not sure if 1-1/2" would fit.

Could anyone confirm the size, please? Will 1-1/2" fit to the mini's rear caliper piston?

 

Short question
When you changed the front pads you used plastilube, but i can't see you mentioning here. Should i use it here too?
(on the contact surfaces and the edges of the piston)

 

If you want to prevent any potential for squealing, then use it.

Richard

 

Thanks for super-fast response btw and the best "DYI-guide" i have ever seen.

But can I use copper grease or engine grease instead of plastilube and any tips to how on earth to loosen this screw (from some reason there is a straight slot instead of a torx who I imagine will be quite the challenge)



sorry for louse pic-quality

 

I've never seen a slotted screw instead of a torx for this. Was there a previous owner on this MINI? I'll have to defer removal of this to somebody with more experience.

Thanks for the kind words.

As for substituting the with grease..I'm not sure you want to get grease anywhere near your brake pads, but then again I've never tried...will have to wait for other opinions.

Richard

 

Thank you...

Took of the other rear wheel to check and woah nothing there no screw at all, just a gaping hole and to think i've driven around with that (is that safe at all) But the screw is kind of odd the crack where you're supposed to put the screwdriver very very thin maybe i should take it to a shop to see if they had some fancy equipment to loosen it with.

 

That screw is there to just keep the brake disc in place if you remove the wheel (and during assembly). When your wheel is on, the four lug bolts hold the wheel and disc in place.

Good luck with removing that strange bolt!

 

I'd hit it with PB blaster 2 days before, then again 1 day before removal. I'd use an old fashioned impact driver, the kind you hit with a hammer for removal.

Alex

 

Lol i Actually managed it and it was ridicolusly easy (easier than changing bulbs on newer cars).. and it was so easy i was just waiting for something to go wrong.. and then *crack* the last 7mm Allen screw broke off inside the "brake shoe (the thing the hole shabang is secrued to that sits on the disc)".. ****...

Well now off to the store tomorrow to buy one rear right "brake shoe" and a 7mm allen screw

Other than that... this **** was so easy i was constantlig worrying i was doing something wrong

And on a last note.. the rear brake pads were so worn out that they were as smooth as glass

edit: one more thing. There are three bolts on the backside of the mounting bracket.. just wondering if all three of them are attached to the bracket or only the one on top and the one on the bottom